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Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has advised the Chinese authorities on the creation of a framework for venture capital investment inside China. The Californian firm approached the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (Moftec), one of three agencies involved in drafting the new rules, when it learned that plans were afoot to allow Chinese companies to more easily solicit venture investment from foreign funds.

Philip Rapp and Lee Taylor of Clifford Chance, Singapore, and Vincent Mignon of Heidelberger Zement Group, analyze the company’s recent complex investment in Indocement

Like China, Russia is keen to entice offshore venture capital and private equity onshore. Daniel Gogek of Lovells, Moscow, explains the steps it is taking and how far it has to go

A recent study (October 2001) of takeover bids for Canadian targets has produced some interesting results. The survey looked at 75 announced bids since Justice Blair gave judicial approval for the use of breakup fees (also known as break fees) as bid inducements in the contest for WIC Western International Communications in early 1998.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is proposing to amend the provisions in its listing rules related to foreign exempt companies. The advantage of foreign exempt status is that companies that satisfy the requirements are not subject to most of the ASX's listing rules. The proposed changes will dramatically raise the threshold for admission into the foreign exempt category. This will have serious consequences for a number of New Zealand companies that are already listed on the ASX as foreign exempt.

The Product Liability Act (PLA) is expected to come into force in July 2002. However, a recent court ruling should alert consumer product manufacturers and distributors in Korea about product liability risks even before the PLA comes into force. The case concerned a tort claim for injuries from a sudden acceleration incident involving an automatic transmission automobile. The burden of proof on the alleged defect of the automobile in this case was shifted to the manufacturer, for the reason that the manufacturer has more detailed technical knowledge while the consumer is not expected to have the high level technology to test such product and would purely rely on the manufacturer. Until last year, in several similar reported cases, courts had ruled that the burden is on the claimants to prove alleged defects on the products.

In line with other European and US markets, the Finnish capital markets have experienced a fairly rapid slow-down during the past year. Heavily dependent on the technology and telecommunications sectors, the aggregate market capitalization of companies listed on the Helsinki Exchanges has decreased significantly, with the main index of the Helsinki Exchanges dropping some 4,400 points from around 11,200 points to 6,800 points during a period of 12 months. Just a couple of months earlier, the HEX index had reached an all-time high on May 18 2000 at 18,331 points.

Clifford Chance is advising the borrowers on the largest water project in the world. Stephen Harder, a project finance partner in the firm's Hong Kong office, is leading a team of lawyers in China and Hong Kong advising Anglian Water and Mitsubishi on a $200 million project financing to design, build and operate the largest water project in the global water market. The Beijing No 10 water treatment plant will supply drinking water to one in five residents of the Chinese capital.

Houston, Texas energy trading company Enron's $1.9 billion sale of utility Portland General Electric to Northwest Natural Gas this October provided a welcome slice of acquisition work for three firms.

Many employers have incorporated a pay in lieu of notice clause (PILON) into their contracts of employment. This clause reserves the right of the company to terminate an employment with immediate effect by making a payment in lieu of that person's entitlement to notice. (The legal advantage of the clause is that termination can occur with immediate effect but without any breach of contract. This means any post-termination obligations on the employee, such as restrictive covenants, may remain in force rather than fall away due to the employer's breach.)